Knitting apparatus



Nov. 15, 1955 J. c. BUCKREUS 2,723,546

KNITTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 15, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 15, 1955 J.c. BUCKREUS 2,723,546

KNITTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 13, 1953 2 sheets -sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.(I072 mCfiac/rezzs,

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United States Patent fhce 2,723,546 Patented Nov. 15, 195.5

2,723,546 7 KNITTING APPARATUS John C. Buckreus, Hobart, Ind., assignorto Bear Brand Hosiery C0., Kankakee, 111., a corporation of IllinoisApplication October 13, 1953, Serial No. 385,847 Claims. (Cl. 66-147)This invention relates to. improvements in knitting machines and-itspurposeis to providenovel apparatus and a novel method whereby tubularfabric may be knitted in great lengths without interruptionof theknitting operation and while maintaining a substantially, uniformtension in the fabric. 1

It is the intention that the. long tube of knitted fabric produced bythis inventionbe set by the usual steam treatment. and then,unraveled,thereby producing a crimped or crinkled yarn which may be wound on acone during. the unraveling operation and then used in the subsequent.plain knitting of stockings such as ladies sheer nylon stockings. Thestockings produced With the use ofthis crinkled yarn are more.attractiveand uniform in appearance than those produced by theuse ofplain uncrinkled yarn. One such methodof producing stockings fromcrinkled yarnis disclosed in; United States Letters Patent No. 2,601,451grantedlune 24,1952, on an application of Frank R. Page- In theproduction ofhosiery with, the use, of crinkled yarn produced by thatmethod it is important that the crinkles in the yarn be substantiallyuniform in size and of different size than any -of thestitchesformed inthe knitting of the hosiery, inorder that the effect of the crinkleswill be retained in the finished hosiery, and this requires the knittingof the initial tubular fabricunder substantially uniform tension. Also,it is desirable that the crinkled yarn wound-onthe cone be of greatlength so that a full cone of yarn may be-wound, and one or morestockings knitted, without the appearance of any knots in the yarn orthe stockings.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provideapparatus for knitting a long tube of fabric without substantialvariation in the tension of the fabric. A further object is to providea'novel method of knitting a tubular fabric according to which the tubeof fabric is revolved with the knitting cylinder so that there is notwisting or pulling on the long tube during the knitting thereof, otherthan that due to its own weight. Another object of the invention is toprovide knitting apparatus for knitting a long tube of fabric andcomprising a rotating cylinder in which the tube is suspended as it isformed and which carries a basket in which the progressively formed tubeis collected. Still another object is to provide apparatus for knittinga long tube of fabric and, as it descends by gravity from the knittingposition, collecting it in a cone-shaped basket which revolves with theknitting cylinder and automatically spreads and distributes theaccumulating folds of the knitted tube so that the upper portion of thetube is suspended by gravity under uniform tension. Other objects relateto various features of construction and arrangement which will appearmore fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the followingspecification taken with the accompanying drawings in which oneembodiment is illustrated. In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the lower portion of a, knittingmachine equipped with the features of the present invention, parts ofthe construction being removed and other parts being shown in verticalsection;

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows a transverse vertical section through the lower part of thebasket embodied in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2,showing the means for supporting the basket for rotation;

Fig. 5 shows an enlarged vertical section through the knitting cylinderand associated parts of the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2; and

Fig. 6 shows a partial top plan view of the construction illustrated inFig. 5. v t

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings as beingembodied in a circular knitting machine of the Scott & Williams type,various embodiments of which are shown, for example, in United StatesLetters Patent Nos. 1,152,850 dated September 7, 1915; 1,189,220 datedJune 27, 1916; 1,238,052 dated August 21, 1917; 1,569,632, dated January12, 1926; and 1,634,682 dated July. 5, 1927. v

As shown in the drawings, the knitting apparatuscomprises a frame 10having a tubular column 11 extending upwardly therefrom and entering theguide flange 12 which extends downwardly from the bed plate 13. Theneedle cylinder 15, having slots 15a for receiving the needles, extendsupwardly from the bed plate 13 and is adapted to be adjusted verticallythrough pins 16 upon vertical adjustment of the column 11 by a mechanismwhich is not illustrated. A web holder bed.17 extends around the upperend of the cylinder15 and carries the usual web holder 18 mounted aroundthe upper end of the bearing 20 which is secured to the needle cylinder15 by screws 21. p All of these parts are found in the, usual circularknitting machine of this type. together with other operating parts whichare not illustrated inasmuch as they do not bear directly upon theimprovement of the present invention.

The present invention involves the provision of a metal cylinder 22located within the knitting cylinder 15 and extending downwardly intothe upper end of the column 11. This cylinder has an outwardly flaredflange 2212 at its upper end which bears upon the heads of the screws 21and this frictional contact causes the cylinder 22 to rotate with theknitting cylinder 15. At its lower end, the cylinder 22 enters acoupling ring 23 which is clamped in position on the end of the cylinderby means of a clamping screw 24. A second cylinder 25 has a drive fit onthe outer surface of the coupling ring 23 and extends downwardlytherefrom within the column 11 and through the frame member 10 with itslower extremity attached to the hub 26 of a cage 27 adapted to contain abasket 28 in the form of a truncated cone which is open at its upper endand which is adapted to receive the knitted fabric tube 30 produced bythe knitting mechanism and discharged downwardly through the cylinders22 and 25. For the purpose of inspecting the knitted tube 30 as it movesdownwardly, the upper end of the cylinder 25 is provided with anaperture 25a which is adapted to register at intervals during therotation of the cylinder with an aperture 11a formed in the side of thecolumn 11.

The cage comprises three arms 31 which are secured to the hub 26 andwhich extend radially outward therefrom as shown at 31a and thencedownwardly and outwardly as shown at 3115. The lower ends of these arms31 are secured to the upturned flanges 32a of bars 32 which extendradially outward from the axis of the lower part of the basketconstruction. The members 32 have a central aperture engaged by atrunnion 33 extending upwardly from a thrust bearing unit 34 mounted ina plate 35 secured to the floor 36. The bottom of the basket has a hump28d so that it rests on the cage without engaging the trunnion. At oneside of the cage the flange 32a of the bar 32 extends upwardly to retainthe basket 28 in position within the cage where it is adapted to restupon the transverse members 32. The arms 31 are located 90 apart withtwo of them opposite each other, leaving one side of the cage open sothat the basket 28 may be inserted over the upstanding flange 32a andthen dropped into position on the members 32 where it will be rotated byfrictional contact with the cage as the cage revolves with the cylinders22 and 25.

The cage 28 is formed of sheet metal and is in the form of a vesselhaving a bottom wall 2811, an annular wall 28b in the form of atruncated cone, and a rib 28c around the top edge of the annular wallwhich bounds the opening through which the tubular fabric enters thebasket and through which it is withdrawn.

As the knitting operation proceeds, the tube 30 of knitted fabricdescends by gravity through the aligning cylinders 22 and 25 and rotateswith these cylinders and the knitting cylinder 15. As it enters thebasket 28, the action of centrifugal force cooperates with the force ofgravity to throw the tube outwardly toward the outer annular wall of thebasket so that it assumes the form of a plurality of superimposed coilsor folds which allow a great length of the knitted tube to accumulate inthe basket without interfering with the continuous descent of theknitted tube through the cylinders 22 and 25. Thus, the weight of theknitted tube 30 acts to maintain a substantially uniform tension on thefabric which is being knitted by the knitting apparatus at the head ofthe knitting cylinder so that the stitches formed in the tube 30 aresubstantially uniform in size. By suitably adjusting the knittingapparatus during the knitting of the tube 30, the stitches may be soregulated in size that they will diifer from any of the stitches whichare present in the hosiery knitted from the yarn which is produced byunraveling the tube 30 after this tube has been set by the action ofheat, thus causing the crinkles of the yarn to produce the desiredattractive appearance throughout the stocking, including those portionswhich have relatively wide or open stitches at the top and those partswhich have relatively tight stitches at the ankle.

Although one form of the invention has been shown and described by wayof illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed invarious other embodiments coming within the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. The combination in knitting apparatus, of means for knitting a fabrictube, a rotary cylinder through which said tube passes by gravity as itis formed, a cage carried by the lower end of said cylinder, and abasket removably mounted in said cage for receiving said tube.

2. The combination in knitting apparatus, of means for kntting a fabrictube, a rotary cylinder through which said tube passes by gravity as itis formed, a cage carried by the lower end of said cylinder, a bearingmounted beneath said cage to support it for rotation, and a basketremovably mounted in said cage for receiving said tube.

3. The combination in knitting apparatus, of means for knitting a fabrictube, a rotary cylinder through which said tube passes by gravity as itis formed, a cage carried by the lower end of said cylinder, and abasket removably mounted in said cage for receiving said tube, saidbasket being in the form of an upright truncated cone.

4. The combination in a knitting machine having a rotary knittingcylinder and associated apparatus for knitting a fabric tube, of asecond cylinder mounted within said knitting cylinder and rotatabletherewith for receiving said tube as it is knitted, a cage carried bysaid second cylinder and rotatable therewith, and a tube receivingbasket removably mounted in said cage and having an outwardly anddownwardly flared annular wall.

5. The combination in a knitting machine, of a rotary knitting cylinder,a bearing ring mounted on the upper end of said cylinder, meansassociated with said cylinder and said bearing ring for knitting afabric tube, a second cylinder through which said tube descends bygravity as it is formed, said second cylinder having its upper portionlocated within said first named cylinder and being provided at its upperend with an annular flange carried by said bearing ring, and a removablebasket carried by said second cylinder for receiving said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,406,128 Wilson Feb. 7, 1922 1,534,445 Fitting Apr. 21, 1925 2,561,491Brooks July 24, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 631,456 Great Britain Nov. 3, 1949

